The Ethereum Foundation has wrapped up a major restructuring that will reshape its internal organization and shrink its headcount. In a blog post Tuesday, the EF said the reorganization — tied to a refreshed mandate and new treasury-management strategy — is now complete and included a roughly 20% workforce reduction, affecting 54 employees across multiple teams.
New structure and purpose
The Foundation reorganized its operations into five core “clusters”: Protocol Layer, Access Layer, User Layer, Community Layer, and Institutional Layer. Two additional clusters will handle management and operational functions. According to the EF, each cluster was designed with specific responsibilities, accountability frameworks, and internal structures aligned to the work it must deliver. “Each domain of work requires a different approach, is held accountable for different kinds of results, and has a different internal structure tailored to the work that needs to be done,” the post said.
Spending cuts and timeline
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin confirmed the layoffs on X and framed them as part of a broader spending-reduction strategy. The Foundation plans to trim annual spending from about 15% of its remaining treasury before 2026 to a long-term target of 5% after 2030. As a step toward that goal, the EF said it is cutting its budget by roughly 40% this year.
Human impact and support
Buterin acknowledged the human cost of the changes and rejected any suggestion the cuts were merely an “efficiency exercise.” “I will not try to pretend this. I respect my EF colleagues far too much to pretend that there was not much that is lost,” he wrote. The Foundation said affected employees will receive severance packages and transition assistance, similar to support given to prior departing team members.
What this means for the ecosystem
The reorganization and aggressive treasury discipline signal a tighter, more focused EF that aims to concentrate resources on prioritized workstreams while preserving long-term funding. How the new cluster model performs in practice will be watched closely by developers, grant recipients, and institutions that rely on EF support.
Ethereum market outlook
On-chain and liquidation data point to weak market sentiment for ETH. Technically, ETH is trading below the 20-, 50- and 100-period EMAs on the 4-hour chart (about $1,753, $1,901 and $2,064, respectively). It also remains under a previously broken descending trendline near $1,729 and a horizontal resistance zone around $1,741 — conditions that keep the broader bearish structure intact.
Key levels to watch
- Immediate support: $1,611. ETH is approaching this level after a rejection near the convergence of the trendline and the 20-day EMA.
- If $1,611 breaks decisively: next major support at $1,524.
- Further downside targets: $1,404 and potentially $1,155 if selling intensifies.
Absent a reclaim of the key resistance levels cited above, the short-term technical picture leaves ETH vulnerable to additional losses.
Bottom line
The Ethereum Foundation has tightened its organizational focus and committed to substantial budget cuts, accepting painful short-term trade-offs in personnel to pursue long-term treasury sustainability. Meanwhile, ETH’s price action remains under pressure, with defined technical levels that traders and stakeholders should monitor closely.
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